The Third Second
by Hikuro Yasei
Summary: I've seen the sky rain while the sun shone. I've tasted freshly-picked sweet fruit, I've felt wind on my face and in my hair. I know I've done these things, yet I've never left this Nothing. The only thing I can be certain of is Alma and his stories. OC!


**All characters in this fanfiction belong to Hoshino Katsura, with the exception of my main character and Liana.**

**-xXx-**

I remembered what it was first like when I woke up.

Before that, I only remember nothing, the blackness extending for eternity. I couldn't see, or hear, or smell anything. I couldn't even feel my limbs, tell if they were out away from me or curled up close to my face. I couldn't feel where my skin stopped, where it began. I was everything, I was anything.

I was nothing. It was terrifying. I didn't exist. I was just stuck in this blackness, this nothing, waiting for anything.

But then he came.

He would talk to me in words I couldn't understand, words I couldn't make out past the nothing. I couldn't see who he was, or feel him, but I could hear him. He made me feel like I existed, gave me some ground to stand on in this nothing. He was my savior, he was my everything.

Soon, his words started making sense to me. I don't remember how I knew them, but suddenly I could remember the meanings and understand him. I remembered what the things he was talking about looked like, and then the Nothing was filled with them. I could taste the foods he described, remember the feelings he described, smell the faint scent of what he described. It took away the nothing, wrapped me in a sweet cocoon of memories that came from what I can't remember. But I still couldn't see him.

I remember now, sometimes he would appear, and his voice would have an odd slur to it, and I would remember that someone sounded like that when they were crying. He would tell me about how the people who were awake from this Nothing put him through painful tests and make him hurt for their sake. I pictured it all. I wanted to comfort him, to beg him to stop telling me, to tell him that he was almighty, so why not just cut them down? He was free from this Nothing, he wasn't bound by it; he was a God.

Sometimes another one would talk to me. My Everything told me that this new voice was his friend, and would sometimes make him talk to me. I remember wishing I could see them. My Everything would laugh at something The Other would say, usually though in response to The Other getting mad at him. It confused me; the way they would laugh together like friends would and then they would be yelling at each other.

The Other made me angry; that was the name for the emotion I felt at the time. My Everything was so kind, so helpful, and yet The Other dared to treat him like a burden? Now that I think back on it, and now that I know more, what I felt was jealousy. The Other could talk back to My Everything, could laugh with him. He could share experiences with him and live with him.

And I was stuck in this darkness, with my only comfort being the memories My Everything conjured up for me.

But then I woke up.

I could suddenly see, I could suddenly move. These strange limbs connected to my body were a pale color, and I lifted them to my face to observe them. I could see faint designs on the palm of my hand-I don't remember how I knew what they were called- and I touched one with the other. A shock went up my arm, and I remembered how to feel. A swirl of dark hair floated past my sight when I moved back, surprised at the touch, and with my hand I lightly touched it, watching it curve with my fingers and float away.

Then something suddenly blocked my view of my hands, and I peered at it curiously. It was red. I moved to touch it, and it swirled with the water, diluting until I couldn't see it anymore. I frowned, I think. Another blotch appeared, with a sound I was sure was called a splash, but this time it was bigger, and I swept my hand through it, curiously watching it dilute again. I wondered what it was called, this red, and when I opened my mouth to make a sound of amusement at this new color I had not yet experienced, something came out of my mouth that for some reason made me nervous and almost depressed.

"Blood."

I flinched at the way the sound echoed in my ears, and only then noticed the strange mask over my mouth, giving me air. But I paid no attention to it.

The red was blood. Blood was bad.

I jerked away from the area it was in, and watched with horror as it swirled towards me anyways. I don't remember why blood was dark, but I wanted away from it, and with a splash there was more.

"You're awake?" I flinched again. The voice did not come from me, but it was familiar. I followed the direction of the noise, looking up in glee to finally see My Everything. Dark hair against a pale face, his features and voice distorted by whatever I was in. He had a mark across his nose, and his expression was slightly blank. Something odd was attached to his arm, and it was splattered with blood. My eyes widened in horror. Was he hurt? Was the blood his? Is he okay?

My questions were cut off when he said the words that chilled me to the bone.

"You don't want to wake up. This world is too painful." The corners of his lips turned up in what I remember as a comforting gesture, but it had the opposite effect. "Don't worry though, I'll put you back to sleep." My eyes widened more. The voice that usually calmed me down now made me want to cower in fear. He wanted me to go back to the nothing? When I hadn't even seen anything? But what had I done wrong?

His arm pulled back, and something about the motion made me flinch as if I was expecting him to hurt me. I don't remember what hurt feels like, but I could feel the lingering memories of when he had described it to me and watched as muscles pulled taught and snapped his arm forward.

"Alma!"

It was The Other. My eyes widened as I saw My Everything stop and turn to the call, the pale blade that was attached to his arm only inches away from the surface of the liquid I was in. Was that his name? Alma? He smiled, and the way it looked made me think he was still in pain.

"Yuu!" he called out, sounding overjoyed. "You're safe!" Tears appeared in his eyes, and I remembered that it was supposed to mean he was sad.

"Al-" the sound was cut off, and there was a deafening silence. I moved away from Alma, and now noticed how much the blood stains covered him. My chest was constricting painfully. I was so confused.

"I'm glad your safe, Yuu," Alma told the other. That must have been The Other's name.

_What was my name?_

"...But I'm going to have to kill you now."

I flinched. What was wrong with him? Did something upset him? Was this place that bad?

And then he wasn't there, and I panicked. Was he going to send Yuu back into the Nothing?

My breathing was fast and I couldn't bring myself to move or try to comprehend the noises coming from the surface or the screams. My stomach had this twisted up feeling, and I realized that this was fear.

It went on for what seemed like ages, until there was silence. My ears were pounding; I didn't want to move. But something compelled me to see Alma and Yuu, to make sure they were okay. Why were they fighting? I made my arm move towards the surface, and when it dipped past, I nearly yanked it back in. Wasn't that biting feeling called cold? I grit my teeth, grabbing the side of the pit I was in, and moved my other arm up to grasp the ledge and pull myself up.

As I slowly lifted myself out, my body was racked with shivers, trying to shake off that biting feeling. But my hands and knees were warm, I looked down at the red soaking the ground, and flinched back automatically. My eyes wide, I looked around the room I was in, but I didn't see Alma or someone I might recognize as Yuu. I saw something else.

Bodies were littered everywhere, and that strange red called blood covered the entire floor. Part of my mind was telling me that this was bad, that I needed to scream and call for help. But for some reason the only thing I could feel was the constant biting, making my skin bumpy and my hair stand on end. I looked around for something to cover my nude form, finding a blood stained white cloak laying on the ground, ripped partly. After fumbling with the mask on my face and gagging against the tube I had to pull out of my throat, I pushed up with my hands, laying my feet flat on the ground, and slowly shifted my weight so that I could stand. I felt wobbly and my legs felt like they would give at any moment, but I slowly made my way to the cloak. As I pulled it around me, something told me that it was wrong to wear this, with the owner lying so still next to it, but I didn't know why. I focused on the warmth spreading over my skin, focused on stopping the shaking throughout my body. I looked up and glanced around, to see if I could spot Alma, but I was alone. Forcing my feet to move again, I walked towards the door, trying to listen for any noise as I made my way through the twisting hallways. They all looked the same to me.

After what seemed like hours of walking and hearing nothing but my footsteps, I finally reached a large room. It wasn't as cold as the room with the bodies, but it still had a draft, so I tightened the cloak around me.

"Hello?" I called out. I think that was the right word to say. My voice was raspy. I heard no answer, so I kept walking. I needed to find Alma or Yuu. My hair was still damp, and it itched slightly under the cloak and tickled my ankles. "Hello?" I asked again. My voice was stronger. "Alma?" I stopped at a large door that was slightly open and, wondering what was on the other side, pushed against it. I was met with a warm draft, and I immediately went through it, eager to be warm.

What I saw made me stop.

It was so different from the place I was just in. The bright lights that hurt my eyes were gone, replaced by something my mind registered as sky, with tiny dots of light littering the dark blue, and one large hole that I remembered was called the moon. I stepped forward, blinking up at the sky, and my foot came in contact with something new. I looked down at the ground I was standing on. Even in the dim light-the name for it was night, wasn't it?-I saw it was a cross between red and gray and felt gritty to walk on. Barely registering that it was called dirt, I looked up and studied the wall of green surrounding me. I couldn't place a name to it, so I wandered closer and ran my fingers along some of the individual stalks. They reached up to cover a lot of the building I just came out of, and only a dim light filtered through the leaves.

Turning back to the long stretch of dirt, I looked for any sign of someone being there. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I guessed I would find out once I saw it.

"Alma!" I called. "Yuu!" The only answer was the howl of the wind. I don't know why I decided to keep walking, not even looking back at the building I had just been in. The green stretched on for quite a while, and when I looked up at the top of it, I could just barely make out something I recognized as a mountain towering over it. My feet eventually started to hurt from stepping on random rocks in the road and pieces of the stalks that had fallen. The faint light the building cast in front of me slowly dimmed as I kept walking. I heard no sound except for my breathing and the sound of my walking, but I strained my ears for any noise apart from me.

A sudden pain in my foot made me stop and gasp, falling to my knees. I glanced behind me. The building was far away now. Wincing, I pulled my feet in front of me to observe them. I knew that I had gotten blisters a while ago, but when had they started bleeding? I lightly touched them, and drew in a sharp gasp when they throbbed. This was worse than the cold. There was a difference between biting and gnawing, wasn't there? I panted a little, trying to get used to the pain. With a shaky breath I stood myself up, wincing at the throbbing ache spiking up my leg.

"Girl?" a sudden voice exclaimed.

Making a sound of surprise, I turned to face the voice, only to fall again. My rear hit the ground rather painfully, and the way I spun when I turned sent another jolt of pain through my feet.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" I looked up at the old woman who was walking quickly towards me, a glowing lantern in her hand. I blinked.

"Where's Alma?" I asked her. Please tell me she saw him...

Her eyes flashed for a moment, confusing me.

"Who are you talking abou- Goodness, child, you're completely bare!" Forgetting her unfinished question in favor of gaping at me, she set the lantern down on the ground. She kneeled beside me and I flinched away when she reached towards me. "Now, now, child, I'm not going to hurt you. Lord, you haven't any shoes either! Is that blood I see?"

She fluttered about for a few seconds, seemingly not knowing what to do, before she settled on wrapping the cloak tighter around me and and stood with her hand held out.

"Have you seen Alma?" I was persistent. She was ignoring my questions, preferring to ask her own.

"How did you get out here?" she asked as she helped me to my feet. I gasped when I shifted my weight on them.

"I walked," I whimpered. She winced.

"Lord, where are your parents?" the woman asked, ushering me towards the direction she had come from. When we turned past a thicket, I saw some sort of wagon with an animal tied to it, and a small fire blazing beside it.

"Parents?" I repeated dazedly, blinking at the odd animal as she made me sit on a rock beside the fire.

"Yes, child, your Mum and Pa?" She lifted my leg and gently prod at the blisters. I hissed in pain.

"I don't know what those are," I panted. She had taken out a piece of cloth and began dabbing at my feet gently with the hot water from the kettle sitting beside the fire. She paused when she heard my reply.

"Did you hit your head, child?" she asked suddenly, looking up at me with concern. I could finally see her face. There were deep creases in her skin, showing how old she was, and tufts of almost white hair stuck out from under the cloth that was wrapped around her head. She had deep green eyes, filled with worry at the moment. Her hands seemed frail but were soft. The fire cast dancing shadows on her face that were fascinating to watch.

"Can you tell me where we are?" she asked me. I slowly shook my head. The only places I knew the names of were the Nothing and the Cold Room. I didn't know this place. Her eyes widened slightly, as if she was fearing something. "Can you tell me your name, then, child?" I frowned, pulling my eyebrows down, prepared to rack my brain and try to remember if Alma had called me anything, but my lips were moving of their own accord already, blurting out the answer and leaving me wondering where it came from.

"Mana Walker."

**-xXx-  
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**Okay, I'll admit, when I first started this story I had no clue where I was going with it, which is why I've redone it like three times... So now I'm trying again and I actually have an idea of what I want to with it ^^* Sorry about my hiatus on all my other stories, too, I just kinda lost any muse I had after a certain something happened and I didn't feel like writing for a while. Well, I'm trying to get back on track and finish the two or three stories I have that aren't done and after I finish those I'll try to rewrite my Naruto fic A Star at Midnight.**

**So, please review, because they make me insanely happy and give me more incentive to write faster :DD**


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